Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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50. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the percentage of staff in her Department capable of dealing with the public in the Irish language; if there are training programmes in place for staff to improve their level of working Irish; the provision there is for other minority languages; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38630/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department of Social Protection is committed to providing a quality customer service in both Irish and English. The Department’s Language Scheme 2015 – 2018 took effect from the 16th March 2015 and will remain in force for a period of three years or until a new scheme has been confirmed by the Minister for Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht. This scheme, which sets out the Department’s commitments to customer service in Irish and advises of the availability of services through Irish, was published on Department’s website in March.

Due to the large number of Departmental offices nationwide, it is not possible to have staff members with sufficient fluency to deal with a customer through the medium of Irish available at all times in every location. The Department will be conducting an audit in the near future in order to identify the specific posts and appropriate grades where a bilingual is required. On completion of the audit the process of filling these positions will commence. In the meantime, arrangements continue to be in place to facilitate customers availing of services through Irish where they wish to do so. As part of a survey conducted in the Department earlier this year, 172 staff (2.6% of total staff) stated that they are willing to provide a service to customers in Irish.

The Department is also committed to the continued development and training of staff to facilitate the provision of services through Irish. A range of supports is available to equip frontline staff with the necessary skills and confidence to deliver a quality customer service in Irish by phone, letter and in person. Supports available include funding for attendance at Irish language training courses; training resources such as language discs and books are made available; and funding through the Department’s Refund of Fees scheme, to encourage staff to pursue Irish Language education outside of work hours.

Language interpretation and document translation services are provided for all languages, including Irish, on request for customers in their engagement with the Department. The interpretation service is provided by way of either a 3-way phone conversation, or a face-to-face service, where an interpreter attends in person.